Infection
by Dr.E. Vance
Summary: The gang plays a prank on Wesley by trapping him in a supposed haunted house only hoping to get a good laugh. Instead, they find themselves in a losing race to free Wesley from an angry and vengeful ghost. AU. Winner Best ActionAdventure in BlackRose Awa
1. Prologue

**Infection.**

**By Dr.E. Vance**

**Disclaimer: I sadly do not own anything in the Buffyverse. : ( I only own the haunted house and the vengeful ghost. Sigh. **

**Summary:** **The Scoobies play a prank on Wesley and get him locked in an old supposedly haunted house. But when a childish prank takes a turn for the worse for Wesley, will the Scoobies be able to save him before a vengeful ghost takes him over?**

**UPDATE:****I WON! I WON! "Infection" has officially won for best Action/Adventure in the BlackRose awards!**

(Prologue - - - - - - - - - -)

Wesley curled himself in the far corner and squeezed himself as close to the wall as he could. His glasses were cracked, but he could find himself unable, or unwilling, to take them off.

His surroundings were damp and dusty and smelled of old books – a smell he usually welcomed – but now found it nauseating. The room he was in was pitch black, except for small traces of moonlight penetrating through holes in the moldy windows.

It was quiet, the type of quiet that made your ears ring and echo and made you wish you had any kind of music to listen to. Wesley tried to ignore the blood that soaked his sleeves and his shirt. He knew if there was more light he would have recognized whose blood it was.

His own.

Wesley tried to recall what had started this all and also what day it was. He remembered how he got into the house and his face reddened with anger only for a moment before tears welled into his eyes. He felt a like a fool and knew he was for falling for such a childish prank.

He so wanted to fit in with the rest of the gang, but knew that if they hadn't come to save him by now, they probably forgot about him. The tears rolled down his cheeks and eventually he was sobbing in despair. He had no idea that the Scoobies were outside trying everything they could to save him. Wesley began to full out sob, never been more scared in his life when he heard the voice plaguing him since he had been locked inside. It repeated the same thing over and over and seemed to get louder and louder.

All Wesley could do was clutch his hands over his ears and sob as the voice screeched all around him . . .

"LAISSEZ-MOI DEDANS!

LAISSEZ-MOI DEDANS!

LAISSEZ-MOI DEDANS! . . .!"

**Look for the translation later. Anyone who cheats, don't spill the beans. **


	2. Chapter One

**(Chapter One - - - - - - - - - -)**

_**(THREE DAYS EARLIER . . . . . . . . .)**_

Buffy, Willow, and Xander sat around a table in the high school library, looking up the latest demon problem. Willow consistently bit her lip every time she flipped a page while Buffy tossed her hair over her shoulder every now and then and sighed.

Xander bounced his knee up and down nervously, or in boredom, and pretended to look like he was reading. Giles, meanwhile, was leaning on the counter reading a book in a language only he knew how to translate. All was quiet and the sun was taking its sweet time in sinking on the horizon.

Buffy finally couldn't take it anymore and slammed her book closed. Willow looked up startled and Xander just looked relieved he could close his book as well and not get malevolent glares from the three others.

"Did you find something?" Giles took his glasses off and rubbed his eyes.

"Yes." Buffy leaned back in her chair.

"What's that?" Giles straightened his back, his glasses dangling from his fingers, looking like he would drop them any second.

"I found out that we have to get out of here. I'm bored shitless." Buffy sighed and bit her lip slightly to apologize for her language.

"YES!" Xander stood and cheered, but noticed nobody else was doing it and in a pause of embarrassing silence slowly lowered himself back into his chair and folded his hands. Willow tucked a piece of hair that kept floating into her eyes every chance it got.

"Buffy . . . we have to find out what this demon is."

"Giles." Buffy stood and walked to the counter so she was right in his face. "The demon hasn't attacked me in two days. Two days, Giles. I don't think it's coming back after the butt whooping I gave it TWO DAYS AGO!" Buffy took in a breath and let it out slowly. Giles raised his eyebrow and ran his tongue over his lips.

"It's early still for vampires and I still want to research." Giles opened his book back up from when he closed it when he thought Buffy had found the answer. Buffy rolled her eyes and didn't walk away.

"Is there anything I can do?" she pestered. Giles sighed frustrated and looked up, obvious fire dancing in his eyes.

"You know that house that's said to haunted? Why don't you go up there and see if it's true. Bring a ghost expelling spell." Giles turned his back and walked to a different part of the counter meaning he was finished talking and wanted to be left alone.

Buffy snatched up her coat and threw it on. Her movements were quick and replicated shortly after by Xander.

"Come on Will. Let's go." Xander poked his friend. Willow bit her lip again and stood silently, snatching a book about ghosts off the shelf before pulling on her sweater.

"Aren't you coming?" Buffy asked Giles who looked up and smiled; as if she asked him the dumbest question he'd ever been asked.

"No. I'm not your Watcher anymore remember? Have a good time." Giles waved goodbye and turned his back again. Buffy moaned as the three friends slipped out the door.

(-----------)

Buffy trudged along the frozen ground, in the lead as usual. Willow and Xander were close behind her and Wesley was in the back, scrambling to catch up. Willow and Xander finally managed to keep in close stride with their friend and listened to the crunch of the frost-covered ground before speaking in hushed tones.

"I can't believe he had to come with me." Buffy complained.

"We could pull a prank on him. Scare him out of his wits. We'll get a good laugh and then we can do whatever we have to do with the ghost." Xander suggested. Willow looked to him from walking on Buffy's right side.

"Why kind of prank?" she asked suspiciously.

"Just get him to go in the house first and slam the door on him. Just to scare him. Relax Will. What could go wrong?"

"Yeah," started Buffy as they finally approached the decrepit house. "It'll probably turn out the house isn't haunted at all and it was just the wind. Sure why not."

"Oh, alright." Willow finally agreed as Wesley finally reached the slayer and her friends. They turned to him and Buffy smiled sweetly.

"Wesley. Since you're my Watcher, I think you should go in first." Buffy offered, hoping that would work. Wesley stared at her and spoke in between catching his breath.

"That doesn't make sense. Shouldn't you go first? I mean, you being the slayer and all?" Wesley scratched his head and surveyed the house. It was moldy and looked like it was taunting you; like it was looking down upon you. All the windows were either missing or covered in something thick and black and from the outside, the house smelled like rotting wood and decomposing plants that have been sitting on the forest floor untouched too long.

The ground around it was dry and damp at the same time and all the surrounding plant life had overgrown and died and the stairs looked like if a mouse set one paw on it, they would collapse into a rotten heap. The porch was just as old and smelly as the rest of the house and a rocking chair covered in cobwebs sat lonely in a corner.

The tree in front, proud but dead, let what branches it had left sway in the wind away from the house as if warning the four people to leave, that this wasn't even something a slayer should try to handle. A rat scurried by and now even Buffy was slightly regretting what she had to do but didn't let that feeling make home in her for too long.

"I was kidding. Actually, I need you to go inside first and light this candle . . ." Buffy reached her hand behind her until she felt Willow place a bulky, thick candle in her palm. She brought her hand out in front and handed the candle to a reluctant Wesley.

"Alright." Wesley agreed, but eyed them skeptically as he approached the decaying steps. He managed to climb them without breaking them; it was when he got to the porch where it began to go downhill. Wesley's first step was fine, but when he placed his right foot on the porch, it went through.

He stumbled and stopped himself from falling forward by grabbing the top of the railing that was strangely slimy with something he didn't want to know what it was. Buffy, Willow, and Xander winced slightly, not planning on that as they steadily made their way up the stairs and towards the porch.

"You okay?" Willow politely asked as Wesley pulled his foot out of the hole and stared down into it with disgust.

"Yes, thank you. I'll just, uh . . . pop inside and light the candle." Wesley turned the knob, which didn't fall off like he expected it to, and took a deep breath before stepping inside the dark house. Buffy, Willow, and Xander heard Wesley yell out before they slammed the door: "Wait! You didn't give me a . . . match!"

"Now!" Buffy whispered and they slammed the door shut and laughed when they heard Wesley yelp and stumble backwards. It was pitch black inside and he tripped over a bump in the rug. He landed hard on his butt, knocking the wind out of him.

"Very funny." Wesley could hear them laughing. "Very funny. You can let me out now." He pulled himself up and made his way to the door. He turned the knob but it wouldn't budge. On the outside, Xander tried the doorknob and found it wouldn't budge on his side either.

"I think we need a Buffy power kick." Xander moved over to let Buffy through. She kicked the door, only managing to accomplish bouncing back and falling backwards down the porch stairs. Willow rushed to her and Xander yelled through the door to Wesley. "We can't open the door."

"What!" panic began to rise in Wesley's voice. He turned and tried to survey his surrounding but could see nothing. All he knew was the room he was in smelled of dust and decomposing wood. He also, because of the echo, knew the floor he was on was just one large room. Eerie forms outlined disturbing images along the ceiling. Wesley shuddered and banged on the door. "Get me out!" he yelled.

Buffy looked up at Willow as she helped her up. She brushed herself off and checked to make sure she hadn't hurt herself more than a few bruises. Everything clear, she finally spoke.

"We have to find Giles." She announced. "Xander, come with me. Willow use your magic to try to open the door or to break the windows." Buffy began to run and Xander bounded along behind her, shrugging at Willow as he passed as if to say:

"One minute she wants to prank him and then she's in a rush to save him."

Willow sighed and walked to the door and began to chant.

**Man, I'm sleepy. Yawn. R&R please and no flames! **


	3. Chapter Two

**A/N: Because I was asked. . . I titled the story "Infection" because of later on. . . **

**(Chapter Two - - - - - - - - - - - -)**

Buffy skidded to a stop a mile away from the high school and took in a few breaths. It was now completely dark and as she stared up at the moon, she wondered what she was doing exactly.

She couldn't recall why she reacted the way she did when the door wouldn't open. Was it because the kick that usually saves the day did squat to help? Was she actually running to Giles for aid to help herself?

The door was probably jammed because of ice or mold and Wesley was fine and was just being the scared little man he was. Yet, Buffy couldn't shake a fear of abnormality, a different abnormality than usual, lurking around that house.

Buffy laughed to herself and made the decision to turn around and head back the way she came. She made the silent plan to find Xander, who had probably given up the chase long ago, and go back to house to Willow.

From there, she planned trying to be a good Samaritan and at least wait with Wesley if the door still refused to open until the next morning, which happened to be Saturday. Buffy doubted anything bad could come out of this situation and she watched her breath float delicately along the path of the wind.

(---------)

Willow threw the energy ball at the window and waited until it dissipated before checking to see if there was anything. The window was barely scratched and Willow sighed. She felt as though she had tried everything and she was tired.

"Hello?" Wesley called as loud as he could go, praying that he hadn't been left alone.

"Nothing's working and I'm too tired to try anything else. Don't you know anything?" Willow asked, slightly annoyed but her attitude changed with the answer.

"I've been trying spells myself and nothings WORKING!" Wesley yelled and Willow heard a hard crack against the door and tried to hold back a chuckle when he yelled out in pain.

The wind whipped Willow's back and she wished she had worn a heavier sweater. She turned at the sound of crunching feet approaching and her heart began to race. Not knowing Buffy had turned back, Willow feared it was something that went bump in the night. Or growl, or screech . . .

She jumped when someone called her name and only calmed down slightly when she saw it was Buffy and Xander - but Giles was missing. Buffy's cheeks and nose were bright red with cold and Xander still seemed to be out of breath from running back and forth.

"Where's Giles?" Willow wrapped her arms around her at a weak attempt to keep warm.

"Buffy, here decided to turn back and wait until morning." Xander threw his thumb over his shoulder at Buffy as he rolled his eyes. Buffy playfully smacked his thumb away and explained further.

"I figured the door is frozen shut. Besides, what could Giles do anyway?"

"I don't know? Call the fire station to get them to break the door down?" Willow suggested throwing her hands in the air. The three friends were silent, all of them wanting to solve this in a different way. Xander wanted to just leave him there, Willow wanted to call the fire station and Buffy wanted to wait until morning.

"I think I'm more powerful than the fire brigade and so are you Will. Neither of us could open the door. Doesn't that tell you something?"

"If it was frost, you think the fire spell I cast would've worked. I think something ultra-supernatural is going on here and we need Giles' expertise on this." Willow was careful not to stomp her foot as she made her way down the porch stairs to continue the argument.

Inside the house, Wesley had resorted to placing himself gingerly on the floor in front of the door, his head in his hands. The house was freezing and cobwebs lingered in every square inch and Wesley heard scuttles inside the walls. Faint lines of moonlight sifted their way through breaks in the mold covered windows.

"_Laissez-moi dedans. . ._"

Wesley barely it the first time but did know who, or what, ever said that wasn't speaking English. It was too faint for him to translate the whisper and the second time it was said wasn't much louder than the first. He picked his head up and wished he could see his surroundings.

The third time was loud enough and Wesley strained his ears to finally figure out it was French.

" 'Let me in'?" Wesley looked at his hands, the only thing he could make out in the room he was sitting. "I can't let you in, remember?" Wesley called, thinking it was one of the people outside. "Come to think of it, I didn't know they could speak French…" Wesley mumbled to himself. He was right in thinking that, all outside were arguing and none of them knew French.

Feeling slightly braver, Wesley decided to stand and try to make his way to the other side of the room at least. The floor creaked and without warning the entire house stopped moving. The wind refused to blow and the dust that had been making intricate designs in the soft moonlight creases seemed to pause in mid air.

A different kind of chill, different than any type of wind or breeze Wesley had ever felt before, slid along his cheek and disappeared only for a moment before returning to do the same. The next time, the chill glided down his whole body, ending right at the tips of his shoes.

Wesley began backing away to the door again and his back hit it with a slam. He thought it was over but noticed the wind was unmoved and the dust particles were still paused. He had never been more terrified in his life.

(---------)

Outside, Buffy was about to make an interesting point when Willow shushed her and looked around. Buffy noticed that look and it was the 'something's-not-right' look.

"What's wrong Will?" Buffy whispered.

"Don't you feel it? Look at the tree." Willow pointed at the tree, once branches dancing in the wind, now as placid as a sleeping baby. Xander breathed out and watched as his breath cloud seemed to drop to the ground like a limp piece of celery, rather than drift and slowly dissipate.

"Why did the wind stop?" Buffy's heart raced. Something definitely wasn't right and at the moment, she regretted not getting Giles.

It was the creepiest feeling when everything stops moving. It was entirely silent – not even the chirp of a cricket was heard.

The trio cautiously stepped up to the door and they looked at each other before Buffy called out.

"Wesley? Are you okay?" after receiving no response she tried again. "Hello? Wes?" Suddenly, from inside the house somebody screamed. Buffy turned to Willow, her eyes wide. "Will . . . go get Giles."

Willow didn't have to be told twice and she turned and ran off into the night at full speed. Buffy turned back to the door, Xander close by her side.

"Wesley?" Xander called.

Wesley couldn't respond for he was unconscious and even if he was awake, he wouldn't have been able to answer back.

The wind refused to blow and the dust settled confidently on the ground now, it's purpose complete.

**Chapter three on the way! **


	4. Chapter Three

**A/N: All this emotion is killing me. Anyways . . . enjoy, enjoy. Please R&R if it isn't too much trouble. . . **

**(Chapter Three - - - - - - - - -)**

Wesley awoke to the same darkness that there was when he had passed out. He tried to remember the reason for passing out and all he could recall was a pair of pulsating red eyes and feeling cold from the inside out like someone stuck icicles deep into his skin.

He pulled himself off the floor into a sitting a position and shook his head to clear it out. He was immediately dizzy afterwards and his head was swimming. He knew whatever he had seen and felt were real and he wished he was naïve enough to not believe that, but he did.

Wesley attempted to pick himself up and stand on his feet, but his attempt was hopeless as his knees shook and he crumpled into a heap on the floor.

"Wesley?" he faintly heard a hoarse voice calling his name which lead him to wonder how long he was out.

"Yes? Hello?" he answered back, surprised someone was still there. On the other side of the door, Buffy didn't hear anything as if a barrier wasn't allowing anything to get in, including sound. Wesley heard his name called again and he furrowed his eyebrows. "I can hear you, what is it?" This time there was no response from the other party.

Buffy had turned nervously to Xander whose hands were shoved in his pockets as far as they would go. It was cold, but as close as they were to the house, it had to be below zero.

"You don't think he's . . ." Xander started and Buffy interrupted impatiently.

"No. He is not dead. I refuse to even think that." Buffy rubbed her hands together, disappointed she wore the coat with tiny pocket space. Xander looked at his friend strangely and struggled not to smile.

"Actually I was going to ask if you thought he was hurt or if he's found another way out, but now that you brought it up . . ."

Buffy shook her head and pulled her hat down tighter on her head and zipped her coat all the way up. It was going to be a long night.

(--------)

Willow smashed through the high school doors, surprised they were unlocked and she prayed that Giles was still there. She nearly kicked the library door open and breathed to see Giles asleep among piles of books.

"Giles, wake up!" Willow yelled and ran over to shake him. Giles blinked and smiled to see Willow, but his smile disappeared when he saw the panic in his young friend's eyes.

"What's the matter? Is anyone hurt?" Giles immediately asked as he whipped his glasses onto his face and stood. Willow took a minute to catch her breath before speaking quickly, putting everything in one sentence and one breath.

"You told us to go to the haunted house so we did and we decided to play a prank on Wesley so he would get scared so we got him to into the house first and we closed the door on him and it worked but now we can't open it and Buffy tried to kick it and I tried magic and nothing worked and then the three of us were arguing and then the everything, including the wind, stopped moving, which is never a good sign, and then we heard Wesley scream and Buffy told me to get you."

Willow finished by taking a breath in and staring expectantly up at Giles. Being around fast talking teenagers trying to explain how they planned on finishing their paper in 45 minutes, Giles understood every word she said and moved behind the counter. He bent down and when he stood back up again, he had a large duffle bag filled to the brim with various objects.

"Let's take my car," was all Giles said as he ran out the door, not giving the unlocked door a second glance. Willow followed close behind glad she didn't have to do anymore running.

(---------)

Buffy and Xander turned excitedly when they heard what they assumed to be tire's heading in their direction. Headlights came into view and blinded the pair at the door, but they were quickly turned off when the car stopped and the doors flew open.

Giles practically threw himself at Buffy and he took a quick survey of the house before speaking.

"What do you know?"

"Hardly enough to matter. I'm sure Willow filled you in?" Buffy looked to Willow who nodded. Buffy turned her attention back to Giles. "I don't know what's going on. We can't open the doors or windows and we suddenly can't hear anything that's going on inside." Buffy crossed her arms and stared dead straight into Giles' eyes which disconcerted him, but only for a moment.

"Wesley?" Giles yelled loudly, his mouth up to the door as close as the mold would let him.

(-------)

Wesley looked up at the sound of a familiar person and cleared his tired voice. He too had been calling for someone for quite sometime.

"Mr. Giles? Can you hear me? Please?" he begged and got no answer back. Wesley felt on the verge of tears. He was about to call again when he heard the other voice again.

"_Laissez-moi dedans. . ._" it spoke and Wesley still was unsure of what the voice wanted to be let into. "_Laissez-moi dedans. . ._" the raspy, daunting voice repeated like a broken record. He jumped when he heard a tinkle that sounded like broken glass and for a moment his heart leapt as he hoped the window was open.

He stumbled to the window and saw there were no scratches in the glass besides the ones already there. Suddenly a ghostly, transparent hand only barely outlined by the full moonlight, reached out in Wesley's direction and he moved over, his eyes as wide as the moon outside.

The next time, the hand reached out again and Wesley didn't see it until too late. It attempted to grab Wesley's wrist but the hand disturbingly flew right through to the other side. Wesley sighed in practiced relief until he felt two freezing hands enter his chest. He yelped, but was too cold to say anything more as he was lifted off the ground. He went limp and the last thing he saw were a pair of pulsating red eyes.

The last thing he heard before blacking out again was:

"_Laissez-moi dedans. . ._"

(-------)

In the five minutes that had passed, Giles had made another trip back to the school library and this time returned with the best books about ghosts he could gather. The four of them then spent time reading books to find something, anything, useful.

They all took turns going to the door and calling to see if maybe, just maybe, they would be able to hear a response. They of course received nothing, which worried them more. Finally, Willow smiled.

"I found something!" she squealed. Everyone looked up and Xander walked to Willow's side away from the door. Eventually, Buffy and Giles crowded around her as well and Willow finally spoke again. "this book talks about how hundreds of years ago, a man and his wife moved a lot around the world before finally settling down in what is now Sunnydale.

"One day, another man broke into their house and stole items and murdered the man's wife. The burglar managed to escape and the man, by his wife's dead body, swore he would get revenge. He killed himself two days later and his ghost was permanently locked into the house. Only recently the ghost figured out that if he took over a corporeal body, he would pass as alive and get out." Willow closed the book and everyone looked at each other.

"This man still thinks the burglar is alive since he never got out of the house…" Giles began.

"… and we jut gave him a corporeal body to use to get out." Buffy finished weakly and collapsed down on the stair next to Willow. "Shit." Buffy didn't apologize for her language and Giles didn't even notice.

**That was a little short, I know but the next one will be longer and center more around Wesley, I promise!**


	5. Chapter Four

**A/N: I'm already thinking of a sequel for this. . . don't you ever wish the number in the hit count column was the same as the one in the review column?**

**(Chapter Four - - - - - - - -)**

Wesley awoke curled in a tight ball in front of the window. The moonlight was fading and he figured it was nearing the early hours of the morning. Wesley concluded that he must have been out for a very long time. It was dark when he lost consciousness.

After laying on the floor in weakness for a minute or two, he dragged himself up and almost smacked himself in the head at his stupidity. He made his way to the window and banged on it loudly. It seemed unbreakable so he didn't have to worry about that and it wasn't a voice.

"This would be one of those moments when I regret not taking that Morse code class when I younger." Wesley lowered his fist, knowing he was getting nowhere.

"_Laissez-moi dedans. . ."_ the raspy voice whispered. Wesley looked desperately around him, his eyes brimming with tears.

"Let you in WHERE!" he yelled, not caring if anyone could hear him or not. Wesley finally got his answer and it wasn't a good one.

"_Vous. . ._" the voice cackled and Wesley paled considerably and his hands began to tremble as well as his voice.

"W-w-why?" Wesley tried to stand but found he could not and sat on the floor. He sat on his hands feeling that was the only way to steady them. A minute passed . . . two minutes . . . three . . . Wesley had just about given up when he heard the voice again.

"_Je dois sortir et vous devez être mon corps à faire ainsi. . . laissez-moi dedans. . ._" it whispered, the voice echoing all around him, making it impossible for Wesley to tell where the voice was coming from.

"You need a corporeal body to get out. . ." Wesley began to piece everything together. "Dear lord . . . I have to get out of this house. . ." Wesley moaned as he took his hands away from underneath him, grasping the fact that sitting on his hands wasn't making much of a difference at all.

The moon finally sank away and streaks of early morning sunlight took it's place in providing minimal light, giving Wesley the chance to see what was exactly around him. A giant bookcase lined one wall, though the books that should have occupied it were scattered all over the floor. A large, cushioned and dusty chair was absent mindedly placed in a corner and a thick, hole filled rug lightly touched the floor.

The floor itself seemed to be deep oak and was rather beautiful. A broken chandelier hung from the ceiling and an ashen fireplace seemed to laughing at him. It was still freezing cold and Wesley was exhausted. He needed to sleep and searched the room for somewhere comfortable before having his eyes settle on the chair in the corner.

(-------)

Buffy whisked her eyes open when she felt herself drifting off to sleep on the surprisingly stable rocking chair. Giles and Willow had been trying spells and such all night and nothing was working. Buffy even tried kicking and punching at the window and door again, but only got a sore hand out of it.

Xander had left awhile ago to get everyone a cup of coffee and Buffy regretted not taking the offer to go with him. Just sitting there was driving her nuts. Willow awkwardly approached Buffy and yawned.

"Giles thinks that either something more powerful than the ghost is involved here or the ghost is beyond enraged. Sometimes the Powers That Be won't let something that angry out in the world." Willow explained.

"But this ghost found a loop hole, huh?" Buffy watched Giles lean back on the door and rub his face wearily. "Take a break Giles. Don't ghost's usually rest during the day?"

Giles sighed and nodded and walked over to Buffy and Willow. The wind still wasn't blowing and their faces felt dry. The temperature around the house still felt below zero, but nobody paid attention to it anymore. Xander finally came back, four steaming cups of coffee on a carry out tray in his hand.

"Any luck?" he asked and the sad faces of his friends answered his questions as he handed the coffee out. "Oh, Buffy. I stopped at your mother's house to tell her you spent the night at my house and you would be out the rest of the weekend. She told me that sometime last night it felt like the wind just stopped."

"Did you talk to my mom?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, same story." Xander nodded taking a gentle sip of his coffee.

"Could this be really making that big of an effect?" Buffy asked Giles, who yawned again. He drank a little of his coffee before answering.

"I'm not sure. I never thought someone could be that angry. Obviously I was mistaken."

Buffy finally asked the question that she was sure everyone was too afraid to know the answer of.

"What happens if. . . the ghost infects him?" Buffy couldn't think of a better word to describe what the ghost would do.

"It depends. It's possible he could be able to get the ghost out himself. The ghost could take him over, giving Wesley no control of his emotions or movements. He would still be inside but he wouldn't be able to do anything."

"You don't suppose he knows any spells to get the ghost out of him, do you?" Willow hoped the answer was yes, as she was sure everyone else was. Giles sighed.

"I'm not sure. Probably nothing strong enough for this ghost, anyway."

"What's the easiest way to get it out?" Buffy had an idea what the answer was, but she wished she was wrong. Giles paused in his answer, afraid to say the truth. He wished he could lie to them and say everything would be fine.

"Wesley would have to. . ." Giles paused yet again, finding the words harder to get out than he thought. He sternly told himself not to get too emotionally involved but feared it was too late. "He would have to kill himself." Giles turned his back on his slayer and stared at the floor.

Willow stared into her coffee and Xander sighed, unsure of what else to do. Buffy was glad she was already seated in a chair as she stared off into nothingness. Only one thought was going through her head at that moment: _what have I done? What have I done? . . ._

(-------)

Wesley slept fitfully, mostly because of the disturbing and emotionally draining dreams he was having. He dreamt of everyone he knew dying by his own hand and him not seeming to care what he'd done. He dreamt that he was being buried alive while everyone thought he was dead. His last one before he awakening wasn't scary as such but more along the lines of troubling.

In this dream, Giles kept apologizing to Wesley, or so it seemed, but whenever Wesley asked him what he was apologizing for, Giles wouldn't say. Wesley finally realized that Giles wasn't apologizing to him, but to Buffy. Buffy lay bleeding on the floor and Giles clutched a bloody knife in his hand.

"What did you do?" Wesley asked as Giles turned, his eyes now red and pulsating, and he raised his knife to Wesley.

Wesley jumped awake and wiped the sweat away from his face. The sun was still up and he wouldn't be surprised if he had only been sleeping for five minutes. He pulled himself out of the chair and walked to the piles of books on the floor.

Most of the pages in the book turned into the dust the moment he picked them up. They were all in French and looked incredibly boring anyway. Finally under the ruins was something that appeared to be a scrapbook of some kind. Wesley opened it to look at the brown and faded pictures but something slammed it closed.

"_Mis cela vers le bas! Ne regardez pas cela!_" the voice echoed. Wesley paled again and slowly put the scrapbook on the floor.

"I'm sorry. I won't touch it again." Wesley backed away and suddenly was overcome with a total feeling of aloneness and depression. He collapsed back into the chair and began to cry. A chill surrounded him and he recognized it immediately. The ghost asked to be let in. Wesley wiped his eyes and looked around.

He heard no noises outside which lead him to believe the horrifying lie that they forgot about him. The ghost asked to be let in. Wesley finally answered.

"Go ahead."

**Please R&R, I don't want to sound desperate, but it really helps me when I know people are actually reading and enjoying what I'm writing!**


	6. Chapter Five

**A/N: Don't you ever feel slightly silly posting more of your story when no one's reading it? I'm not complaining . . . much . . . XD**

**(Chapter Five - - - - - - - -) **

It hurt more than Wesley had expected it to. Wesley had expected to feel a twang of pain and very cold, but instead he was so cold he was burning. The pain was unbearable and he tried not to scream, but he couldn't hold it in.

Giles was the only one outside, after sending the reluctant teens home, when he heard the scream. He looked up and his forehead creased and part of him was happy that he could hear inside but he was overcome with terror with realization.

He knew that now he could hear inside it meant something happened and that the something couldn't be good. Giles stood and began to bang on the window.

"Wesley? What's going on? Wesley?"

Wesley's ears were pounding with pain and he barely heard Giles calling. He crawled to the window and held his head as he tried to ignore the ghost's whispers buzzing deep in his brain.

"Mr. Giles. . . I'm sorry." Was all Wesley could find the strength to say. Giles only just heard Wesley.

"Wesley? Sorry about what?" Giles called through the door but got no response. "Dammit!" Giles slammed his hand hard against the door at the same time Buffy rounded the bush and walked up to the house.

"What happened Giles? What did you do to your hand?" Buffy inspected Giles' bleeding hand. Giles pulled away quickly and avoided looking at Buffy's face.

"I heard him scream Buffy. I heard it. That means something's wrong. Something happened. We wouldn't be able to hear anything unless something happened. . ."

"Calm down." Buffy wasn't sure she had ever seen Giles react this way about anything. The pair suddenly felt something familiar lash on their cheeks. "The wind. . ." she whispered. She never wanted it to go away so badly before. Buffy charged at the door and kicked but it still wouldn't budge. "Why can't we still open the door?"

Giles just shook his head and turned away. He walked down the steps and made his way to his car. Buffy watched him go and wasn't quite sure what to do. Giles got into his car and closed the door.

"Where are you going? GILES!" Buffy yelled as Giles started the engine and backed away. Buffy took one last sad look back at the house and started chasing after the car. "GILES! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

(-------)

Wesley curled into the chair and shook feverishly. He wrapped his coat around him to keep warm, but it didn't help. He hoped to be totally taken over quickly but he was still himself.

"W-w-hat ha-happened?" Wesley's voice trembled so badly that it was incomprehensible to even himself. The ghost explained that he was old and the act of just entering Wesley took too much out of him and he needed to rest.

Wesley wrapped his arms around himself tighter and felt his eyes grow heavy. He had no choice but to close his eyes and fall asleep.

(-------)

Willow returned to the house (after sneaking out her bedroom window) to see it was abandoned. Giles' bag was still there but his car was missing. Willow approached the window and tapped lightly on it.

"Hello? Wesley?" she called softly. Wesley slowly pulled his eyes open.

"_Ne lui répondez pas. . ._" the ghost, now in Wesley's head, warned, but Wesley ignored it.

"W-w-who's th-th-there?" his voice still quavered.

"I can hear you!" Willow called out to him, but her eyes became serious. "Wait," she said to herself. "That can't be good. Oh, my god. The wind. . ." Willow put her hand up and let the wind blow in between her fingers. The dead tree danced again and the birds chirped. It was still freezing cold, though, but Willow was so used to it that it didn't bother her anymore.

Willow had an idea, one she thought was brilliant, and she tapped on the window once again.

"Wesley, can you open the door?" she asked and Wesley dreaded it, because it meant he would have to stand and he wasn't sure he could.

"I'll. . . I'll try." He replied and pushed himself out of the chair. He clung his clammy, shaking hands onto the wall to keep him standing.

He finally made it to the door and placed his hand on the knob, repeating 'Please open' to himself over and over. He weakly turned the knob and the door clicked. Wesley grew excited, as did Willow, as the door began to open. Suddenly, the ghost realized what Wesley was doing and began yelling at Wesley.

The yelling hurt worse than the whispering, if that was possible, and Wesley dropped to his knees and held his head. The door started to shut and Willow yanked her hand out of her pocket and made a mad reach for the knob, but was too slow and the door slammed shut again.

"NO!" she cried out and agitatedly pushed and pulled on the knob, but to no avail. "I almost had it! We almost had it! Wesley, why'd you stop!" Willow let go of the knob forcefully and stumbled backwards.

"He won't let me! He won't let me go! He screams in my head. . . what did I do!" Wesley sobbed on the dusty floor, his face in his hands. Willow's mouth hung open, putting what he said together to face the completed and ugly jigsaw puzzle.

"Why did you. . ." Willow backed away from the door and eventually the house. She ran and all she knew was that she had to find somebody – anybody – to help her. And right now, she didn't care who.

(-------)

Buffy followed Giles until he stopped his car outside his house. She finally stopped running and felt like she was going to be sick, but she did not pause as she walked steadily behind her ex-Watcher. She trailed after him, right into his house, before speaking once more.

"What the hell was that! How could you just walk away like that." Buffy spat with sincere anger and Giles was slightly startled with it as he looked up from his bookshelf.

"I . . . I don't know what came over me. I had an idea and something suddenly made me turn around." Giles desperately tried to explain as he clutched the worn down book in his hands. Buffy was about to yell something when Willow came tearing through Giles' open door.

"Will? What's the matter?" Buffy helped her panting friend sit down and Giles immediately went to fetch her a glass of water. Willow gladly accepted the water and gulped it down, her breathing better. She swallowed and finally spoke.

"I went to the house and nobody was there. I tried to talk to Wesley and I heard him answer back. The wind. . . I asked if he could open the door and he sounded weak. Really weak. He got it, the door was opening but something happened and he stopped. I wasn't quick . . . he was crying. He said. . . said that it wouldn't let him go. It screams in his head. Giles, I think he. . ." Willow couldn't finish and she leaned back on the couch and sighed remorsefully.

Buffy did all she could not to have her jaw hang open and Giles felt like knocking everything to the floor. He knew something wasn't right and knew somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind he knew why.

"Why would he. . .?" Buffy asked, truthfully not sure the answer. Willow looked to her friend like the answer was obvious.

"Why would you?"

"If I thought the people who were helping me abandoned me." Giles answered for Buffy and for that she was grateful. Willow nodded.

"I think he thought we left him."

"What was this brilliant idea you had that I had to chase your car all the way here for?" Buffy changed the subject. She didn't understand why she was feeling the way she was. She never really enjoyed the Watcher's company and found him to be rather foppy. She was willing to play a prank on him in the beginning and now all she cared about was saving his life.

Before Giles had a chance to explain, Xander came running through the door and skidded to a stop.

"What? You found out too, huh?" Buffy sighed. Xander looked at her strangely.

"About what? I saw Willow running here and followed her. What's going on?" Xander looked around at the morbid faces. Giles and Willow turned to Buffy.

"Wesley . . . he. . . he let the ghost infect him. Willingly. He thought we abandoned him."

"Oh." Was all Xander could say. Giles cleared his throat.

"Anyway, I remembered I had this book. . ."

". . . a really old book."

"Thank you Buffy, yes. It has a spell in it to remove a ghost from a person's body but . . ." Giles continued, but Willow interrupted.

"Great. Let's do it. What do we need?" Willow stood and began to look for pen and paper. Giles cleared his throat again.

" BUT, it's dangerous. There is the possibility we could grab the wrong thing, leaving the ghost to harbor itself fully in Wesley's body. It also could not work at all and kill him." Giles finished and stared at Buffy. Xander waited for someone to say something.

"Great. Let's do it. What do we need?" Willow repeated and lowered the pad of paper with frustration at having to explain herself again to her confused friends. "We owe it to him. All the times we've. . . I mean Buffy's . . . been mean to him. . ." Willow paused and grumbled. "Look. He thinks we abandoned him. Do you know what kind of a feeling that is?" Willow asked and Buffy opened her mouth, but Willow interrupted. "Before you say yes, I'm going to answer for you. You don't know, you don't have any idea. I do. It's the worst feeling you can ever have, abandonment. It makes you feel depressed and leaves you wishing you were someone else. Someone stronger who you think knows how to handle it.

"We weren't in there. He didn't have any of us to rely on – to lean on. He became alone the moment he stepped in that house. Have we really been trying as hard as we can? Does he have to die for us to put every bit of energy we have into saving his life? He is a human being. He's not Spike. He's not me. Buffy, he's not you. He's a god damn human." Willow took in a breath and paid no attention to all the jaws of her friends falling through the floor. Willow turned to Giles. "Now, what. Do. We. Need." Willow said slowly.

"Oh, well. Uh, let me see. . ." Giles fumbled with the pages.

Buffy literally fell out of her chair.

**I lied because I love what I had Willow say and couldn't wait to share it with you. . . **


	7. Chapter Six

**A/N: I'm really hoping I can get this to last more than my longest story, which happens to be nine chapters. How does a sequel sound?**

**(Chapter Six - - - - - - - - -)**

Wesley watched as the sun's rays began to slowly go to bed. The sky was cloudy that night so there would be no light source for him whatsoever. It had only been one day and so much pain managed to fit in it. Before closing his eyes, Wesley pondered how long the ghost needed to grow strong again. He hoped it was less than a week.

The ghost was bored sitting in Wesley's head. He had searched every part of his new body's mind. So the ghost decided to show Wesley what happened to make him so angry. I mean, if he was going to take him over, the least he could do was show him why. . .

_Wesley watched everything as a silent and invisible observer, which Wesley noticed wasn't much different than when he was awake. A middle aged couple lay sleeping in their beds._

_The room smelled of roses and everything was old fashioned and clean. The man slept in a different bed than the woman, yet they were in the same room. The woman sat up from her bed and stretched, lighting a candle shortly after. _

_The man woke up when the floor creaked._

"_Victor. . . Shhh. . ." the woman put her finger to her lips and explained in French that she was getting a drink of water. She crept downstairs and all was silent until there was a loud bang and clatter in the kitchen. The woman screamed and Victor shot out of bed and grabbing the old gun from his closet, disregarding his robe._

_He stumbled down the stairs and into the kitchen where he saw his wife on the floor, one of their knives used to chop food awkwardly slammed into her chest. A man all dressed in black had a sack over his shoulder filled with Victor's goods. He didn't look back and bolted out of the house. _

_Victor ignored the man and the urge to chase after him and collapsed on his knees beside his dying wife. _

"_Nicole. . ." he sobbed and held her head on his lap. _

"_Je suis désolé, Victor, mon amour. . vengez ma mort." Nicole instructed Victor to avenge her death. She took one last sharp intake of breath and died. Victor sobbed and swore under his wife's death he would find the man who murdered her. _

_Two days later, he slit his own throat._

Wesley flicked his eyes open, but only for a moment to realize the sun was coming up again. Having nothing else to do, he closed his eyes and slept. He slept on and off the rest of the day and the last dream he had jolted him awake so hard he fell out of the chair.

His glasses cracked on the left side and he cursed, before talking the ghost.

"So, uh. Victor? What's taking so long?" Wesley waited for the pain to come and come it did. He figured he never would get used to it. Victor impatiently explained he was very old and this was his first time. Victor told Wesley to give him at least until 10:00 pm that night, maybe more or less. Wesley hoped he could wait that long.

(-------)

Willow and Giles spent the whole rest of the day collecting materials for the spell. Buffy and Xander took the extra time to catch up on sleep, though Buffy still couldn't shake what Willow had said. _He's not Spike. He's not me. He's not you, Buffy. He's a god damn human. _Buffy knew everything she said was true.

Buffy never really knew true abandonment. In her last high school, she had numerous friends for awhile and Giles had always been there for her. Willow's mother never really supported her and her only true friend the whole time was Xander. What did she do when he was sick? Who did she wish she could be?

She slept fitfully and tossed and turned constantly on the guest bed Giles let her sleep on. Xander offered to sleep on the couch saying he could sleep through anything. Xander didn't seem as bothered by what Willow had said, but he did admit she hadn't been on a rant like that for over three years.

When Buffy awoke again, it was almost midnight and she felt a body next to her. Willow had collapsed after a day of running around and magic on any available bed. Buffy smiled at her best friend and closed her eyes once more, slowly drifting off to dreamland.

(------)

Wesley had waited and, if his watch was still working, it was exactly midnight. He couldn't take it anymore. He finally realized what he had gotten himself into and wanted out. Wesley no longer cared about Victor's private soap opera. His private tragedy.

He wanted Victor out. And he wanted him out now. Wesley pulled himself up and nearly tripped over his coat that he had discarded a while ago. He stumbled his way over to what felt to be a desk and he blindly opened a drawer.

His luck, if you would call it luck at all, struck a pot of gold when he felt something cold and metallic in his hand. He lifted the knife out of the drawer and didn't bother to close it as she stumbled back to the chair again. He paused in thought, the sharp edge of the knife poised over where he assumed his vein was.

Did he really want to die just to get the ghost out? He thought about how the people he trusted abandoned him, or how he thought they abandoned him, and he made up his mind. He closed his eyes as he made the first cut.

(------)

Buffy could sleep no longer and she quickly jumped out of the bed only to see Willow had disappeared. The clock read 12:10 am and Buffy wondered if Willow went to the bathroom or if something was going on. She made her way downstairs to see everyone pulling on his or her coats.

"Oh, Buffy. I was about to send Willow up to get you." Giles pulled a pair of old leather gloves on.

"What's going on?" Buffy questioned surveying the scene in front of her.

"None of us could really sleep so we decided to try the spell to open the door now and do what we need to do. Besides, who could sleep with the way you were snoring?" Willow smiled.

"I mean, I heard you all the way down here!" Xander nodded along and Buffy smiled peaceably at her friends, still able to make jokes at such a time and state of emotion. Buffy snatched up her coat and tugged it on.

"Let's do this." She started for the door, closely followed by Willow, Xander, and finally Giles. "Let's save Wesley." Buffy paused in the doorway and turned to her friends. "I don't snore."

(------)

Wesley couldn't recall how he managed to curl himself so tightly into the corner as he did. He tried to ignore the blood soaking his sleeves and knew he would really know it was his if he could actually see it. He strangely couldn't recall how it all started. He couldn't even remember the day.

He let his eyes pool with tears before his face became red with remembrance. He felt like such a fool for falling for such a childish prank. He just wanted it fit in. He sobbed and never felt so alone and abandoned in his life.

Victor was finally strong enough and he realized in horror what Wesley had done. The ghost felt himself slipping out and yelled the only thing that came to mind.

"_LAISSEZ-MOI DEDANS!_

_LAISSEZ-MOI DEDANS!_

_LAISSEZ-MOI DEDANS! . . .!" _

Wesley sobbed in despair, having no idea the Scoobies were working feverishly outside to save his life. Wesley clutched his hands over his ears and heard the Victor whisper "_I will not let you get away. . ."_ in French before he blacked out.

**All I have the energy to say is: 1) Bum. . . bum . . .bum and 2) please R&R! Chapter Seven is coming as soon as I move my aching butt around a little. . . XD**


	8. Chapter Seven

**A/N: Annnddd. . . I'm BACK! I'm on a roll! A roll of what? Preferably sourdough, please. /pause/ Can you tell I'm tired? I do not own "Easier to Run" by LINKIN PARK, whose lyrics will be scattered throughout this chapter. . . **

**(Chapter Seven - - - - - - - -)**

_It's easier to run_

_Replacing this pain with something numb_

_It's so much easier to go_

_Than face all this pain here all alone. . . _

Willow and Giles chanted the spell over and over, hardly taking time to take a breath. The door creaked and the pair stopped and turned to face Xander and Buffy who looked back. They all looked at the door impatiently.

"Wesley?" Willow whispered. Suddenly, the door blasted off it's hinges and broke into splinters. The blast knocked Giles and Willow backwards like feathers in the wind.

Buffy looked back to her friends, making sure they were alright, which they were, before returning her attention to the door. There was nothing at first. No sounds. No motion. Then, in the quiet, there were footsteps. Wesley (or shall we call him Victor now?) stepped out of the veil of darkness.

"Wesley? What happened?" Buffy asked, but Victor laughed. He spoke and he used Wesley's voice, but there was a deep horrifying echo to it now.

"Wesley? I'm sure he's in there somewhere." Victor used Wesley's arm to point at his head. "Not sure he can hear you, but he's there." Wesley's eyes glowed a pulsating red.

"What do you want?" Xander yelled at Victor.

"To settle a score." Victor plainly answered as Giles helped Willow to Buffy's side. The two magic users looked to each other and began to chant the spell to expel Victor, to expel the infection. "Oh, be quiet." Victor waved Wesley's hand and Giles went flying. Willow knew she couldn't do the spell by herself and shut her mouth.

"The person you're looking for is dead. I'm afraid you're a couple hundred of years late." Buffy approached Victor cautiously, getting a better view of Wesley's wrists. Victor looked at the wrists on his new body as well and smiled.

"He did that. Tried to get me out. I fixed that." Victor grew serious. "He can't be dead. You people are all a trick of mind. My house has not aged the way it looks." Victor stated. Buffy raised a fist to punch, but Victor stopped it and threw the slayer back. "Excuse me. I have business to take care of."

With that he walked off. Willow and Xander made sure he was gone before helping Buffy up. Willow then went to Giles and helped him.

"We have to follow him. Wesley tried to kill himself." Buffy made a beeline for Giles' car. "Can you drive?" she asked him as she got into the front passenger seat.

"I suppose so, yes." Giles rubbed the back of his head and climbed into the drivers seat. Xander and Willow scrambled into the back and slammed the doors.

"Step on it." Buffy ordered. And step on it Giles did.

(------)

_Something has been taken _

_From deep inside of me_

_A secret I've kept locked away_

_No one can ever see_

_Wounds so deep they never show_

_They never go away_

_Like moving pictures in my head _

_For years and years they've played_

Victor seemed to be in no rush and Wesley cried inside his head. He had heard and witnessed the whole encounter with the people he trusted.

"What if they never trust me again?" Wesley asked.

"They never did." Victor whispered. "Be quiet." He walked to the main street and stopped. Strange things whizzed by him that he'd never seen before. Everything was different. He didn't know what any of this was.

He stumbled back into the bushes in shock. He didn't know what to do or where to start. He emerged again after a moment and looked down the street to the right and spotted a familiar sign post. It read "POLICE STATION" and he smirked. That, he figured, would be the first place the man would be.

(-------)

_If I could change I would_

_Take back the pain I would _

_Retrace every wrong move that I made I would_

_If I could_

_Stand up and take the blame I would _

_If I could take all the shame to the grave I_

_Would _

Giles sped down the grass to the main street and stopped the car, rocking everyone forward.

"Why did you stop?" Buffy had a tiny speck of panic in her voice. "He could hurt someone. . . or himself."

"I'm trying to figure out where he went."

"How about the police station?" Willow pointed out the window and offered helpfully. There was a loud crash as a window blew out. "Definitely the police station." Willow nodded as Giles took a hard right and turned swiftly into the parking lot.

They fell out of the car and ran inside to see Victor holding an officer in mid air, while the other officer eyed her gun, ready to pounce on it at the right moment. As the four pounded into the station, she figured this a big enough distraction and she dived.

The officer grabbed her gun and Victor dropped the officer he was holding and turned. Guns had evolved slightly since his time, so he was unsure of what it was exactly.

"One step closer and I'll shoot." The officer checked the gun for bullets. Buffy opened her mouth to protest, but the officer spoke to her. "Don't say anything girl." Victor took a step closer and the officer lifted the gun and clicked it.

"Where is he?" Victor asked as he raised his hand.

"I don't know who your talking about. Step closer and I'll shoot, I swear." The officer warned one last time. Thinking himself invincible, Victor stepped closer. It all happened so fast. All Buffy recalled was Giles yelling "NO!" and ending up on the floor bleeding.

Everyone grew silent and for a moment, Wesley's eyes turned to normal. They were puffy as he looked up at Buffy.

"Mr. Giles? Oh, god. What have I done?" Wesley ran out the door. Willow knew she should've stayed but was compelled to follow Wesley and she slipped out.

(-------)

_Just washing it aside_

_All of the helplessness inside_

_Pretending I don't feel misplaced_

_Is so much simpler than change_

**Whew. That's all I have to say. **


	9. Chapter Eight

**A/N: I realized I forgot about the book somewhere in chapter five so let's say that when Giles sent them home the first time, Willow brought the book home with her and left it at home. And that point about Willow in the review is right, but I was thinking, she could've tried the spells and they might have worked but she isn't powerful enough? Oh, I don't know. :( Forgive me mistakes and keep enjoying the story. . . **

**(Chapter Eight - - - - - - - - -)**

Buffy had seen Willow leave but she didn't care. Giles lay on the floor, a bullet in his shoulder. She knew the wound could've been worse, but just the fact he was injured hurt her. Buffy turned angrily to the officer, who had dropped her gun in shock of what she had done.

"What did you do?" Nothing but anger filled Buffy's voice and Xander was afraid he would have to attempt to hold her back. "Call SOMEONE!" Buffy yelled at the officer who immediately did as she was told and picked up the phone.

Buffy bent down and looked into her ex-Watcher's eyes. He smiled up at her, but Buffy did not return the smile.

"Buffy. . ." Giles began.

"Why did you do that?" Buffy asked, tears forming in her eyes.

"I. . . If the officer had shot Wesley, Wesley would've died. The ghost would've lived and he would live permanently in Wesley's body." Giles tried to smile again as the sound of ambulance sirens quickly approached. Xander looked out the door and hoped Willow was alright.

(--------)

Willow had been following Victor (Wesley had disappeared back inside his head) for a good five minutes until she lost him for a moment. After finding him again, she saw him turn into a graveyard. Had he finally figured out the truth? Willow trailed him inside and the lack of moon didn't help much.

She ducked behind a large tombstone when she saw Victor pause in front of a smaller tombstone, no flowers or anything covering it. Willow shifted her foot and saw Victor turn his head.

"Who's there?" he called and Willow knew she couldn't conceal herself any longer. She stood and made contact with the red eyes. She slowly inched forward.

"Wesley?" she called hoping to get him back.

"What are you doing witch?" Victor cursed and backed away. Willow ignored Victor.

"Wesley? I know you can hear me. You are strong enough. You haven't been abandoned. . ."

"SHUT UP!" Victor screamed. He had to avenge his wife and this witch was trying to stop him? That wouldn't do.

". . . we've been trying to help you. But you have to do this yourself. You can do it – your strong enough." Willow moved closer to Victor and he backed away further. Wesley heard every word she said but she didn't say what he wanted, what he needed to hear. As if knowing, Willow finally said them. "I believe in you. Tell him to get out."

Victor's face grimaced slightly and he began to twitch. He collapsed on his knees and began to breath heavily and painfully. As quickly as it had come, it stopped. He was very silent and unmoving. Slowly he began to stand. Willow smiled brightly.

"Wesley?"

"Stupid girl." Victor whispered as he flung Willow into a tombstone. "Such a stupid girl." He repeated and walked off.

(-------)

Buffy and Xander managed to convince the ambulance driver that they both had to come and they trundled off to the hospital. Once inside, Giles was taken away and Buffy and Xander were left in the waiting room. They sat in silence for Buffy had nothing to say. For once, neither did Xander.

Half an hour later, the doors of the hospital slammed open and a girl with familiar red hair was wheeled in unconscious on a gurney. Buffy stood, fearing the worse.

"Willow?"

"You know her?" one of the doctors asked as they wheeled her along.

"She's my closest friend. What happened?" Tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Somebody found her unconscious in the graveyard. Called us and they brought her in." the doctor left Buffy standing alone in the hallway again and Xander eventually came up behind her. Her bottom lip quivered. First Giles, now Willow. Buffy started to run for the door and Xander tried to chase after her.

"Buff, where are you going?" he called out. Through her tears, Buffy answered.

"To find that son of a bitch." Buffy continued running. Xander gave up.

"Where?" he yelled after her.

"I don't know, but I sure as hell am going to find him." She cried angrily and busted the doors open, even though they were automatic. She ran along the pavement and almost knocked over numerous people, but she didn't care.

She made a beeline for the graveyard and found the tombstone where Willow obviously had slammed into. Buffy wasn't sure what she was searching for, but knew she'd recognize it when she saw it. After two minutes of looking she found a tombstone nearby where Willow was attacked.

_Nicole Francois_

_Beloved wife – I Will Avenge Your Death_

_1846 – 1893_

Buffy read it out loud to herself and thought for a moment. Where would she go if she was hunting the man who murdered her loved one? The place they put people like murderers. Prison.

She knew the nearest prison was too long a walk so Buffy made her way to the closest bike rack. She broke lock with a powerful kick and borrowed somebody's bike. She was in too much of a state of grief and anger to care if someone saw her steal it.

**That was short yes, but I didn't feel it needed to be so long. Decided instead of writing a separate sequel for this, I'll have two parts in the same story. Understand? Please r&r. I made up the dates, so if anyone has better ones, let me know and I'll change them. **


	10. Chapter Nine

**A/N: what a rollercoaster. . . I do not own "Easier to Run" by LINKIN PARK.**

**(Chapter Nine - - - - - - - -)**

Buffy pedaled furiously down the street following the signs to the prison. The sun was just shedding pale pinks and purples into the night sky as she reached her destination. She scanned the area and at first feared she was wrong, but saw Victor trying to determine how he was going to get in.

Buffy dumped the bike behind a bush and approached Victor.

"You could always climb it." Buffy suggested, pointing to the fence. Victor turned, his red eyes staring right into Buffy's. It made her uncomfortable, but she refused to show it and didn't look away.

"Are you mocking me girl?" Victor scoffed. Buffy pretended to be in thought.

"Yeah, that would be a good assumption. Look, the guy your looking for is dead. Your wife's death was avenged hundreds of years ago." Buffy crossed her arms.

"No! You lie. You jest and I find it hardly funny." Victor said.

"Wish I did. You've been in that house for over 200 or something years. Things have changed. Why don't you go back where you came from and leave Wesley alone."

"I like this body. I refuse." Victor laughed heartily at Buffy, which only made her crosser. The sun started to rise gently and slowly and it showed how pale Wesley's face was.

"I'm sorry. That wasn't an option. That was an order."

"By whom?" Victor found this whole ordeal amusing and he placed his hands behind his back which was exactly what Buffy wanted.

"The slayer." She stated and kicked Victor square in the chest. Victor went flying backwards and slammed into a nearby tree. He picked himself up and Buffy began calling to Wesley. "Wesley, nobody abandoned you. We were trying to get you out, trying to save you. I know you have the strength somewhere to tell him off. I believe you can do it. I don't want to have to kill you."

Buffy tried to punch Victor but he blocked and threw her back into a bush. He picked up a stick and was about to stab her when he no longer had control over his arm.

"What! No!" Victor lost grip on the stick and dropped it.

"That's it Wesley. Come on. . ." Buffy encouraged as she continued sitting on the ground. Victor lost control of everything and felt himself slipping away. He backed away from Buffy, his legs the only thing he could control.

"What have you done, slayer!" he screamed, but Buffy only smiled.

"I haven't done anything."

Victor collapsed on the dirt ground and he started yelling at Wesley.

"Stop! You have no control. . ." Victor moaned. Unexpectedly, Wesley's body launched into the air and hung there a moment. Buffy watched, her brow furrowing. Then, a transparent form of a man shot out of Wesley's body and got swept away by the wind.

Wesley dropped to the ground with a thud and Buffy rushed to his side. She looked down at his face and was surprised to see his eyes open.

"Wes? That really you?" Buffy asked. Wesley responded by bursting into tears and sobbing. Buffy picked his upper body up and let Wesley sob into her shoulder.

A minute later Giles' car stopped in front of Wesley and her and Xander jumped out of the drivers seat.

"I didn't know you could drive." Buffy looked up at him.

"Well, I can. I just don't really have my license yet." Xander smiled and looked down at Wesley, his eyes averting to the Watcher's wrists. "Buff, his wrists are bleeding. We have to get him to the hospital."

Buffy and Xander helped Wesley up and escorted him quickly to the car. Buffy left the bike behind as the car sped off. As they were almost there, Buffy turned around and faced a sleeping Wesley.

"I always knew he could do it."

"Oh, did you?" Xander smiled.

"Can't you go any faster?" Buffy quickly changed the subject. "I can't have him die. Who knows what other kind of British Watcher I'd get next if he did."

(------)

_It's easier to run_

_Replacing this pain with something numb_

_It's so much easier to go_

_Than face all this pain here all alone_

**The end. . . of Part I: Infection! Part II: Not Out of the System is coming soon!**


	11. Chapter Ten

**Here's Part II which, due to some thinking, will be different than what I told you. **

**(Chapter Ten - - - - - - -)**

It was about a week and half since the incident and plans for the tearing down of the haunted house were already underway. Xander and Giles seemed to be the only ones to recover the fasted emotionally. Buffy still felt angry at Wesley for letting Victor do what he did.

Willow was upset and felt the same as Buffy, she couldn't quite forgive Wesley. Wesley said nothing and hardly ever slept, so it was difficult to tell what he was feeling. Giles had recovered mostly from the gunshot and his arm was now in a sling. Willow had a concussion that was almost gone and a bruised tailbone. Buffy stood in the waiting room with Xander, Willow and her mother.

Buffy had personally asked for Joyce to come, lying and saying they were attacked after school one day, troubling Joyce to no end. The four of them were waiting for Giles to bring Wesley out so they could sort out his living arrangements. According to the doctors, Wesley was being let out of the hospital slightly too soon. They said he still needed to be under observation.

Giles said that he had told the doctor that he would be under constant observation. Buffy wasn't too keen on seeing him, but she kept trying to convince herself that it wasn't Wesley who hurt her friends, but Victor.

The doors to the waiting room swung open with a push of Giles' good shoulder and he stopped to let Wesley through. Wesley paused and refused to go first and Giles sighed walking into the room first, slowly followed by Wesley.

Buffy expected something completely different than what she saw. She expected plain old Wesley and what she got was exactly the opposite. Buffy hadn't seen him since the early morning when she and Xander drove him in, and she almost staggered backwards when she saw him.

Wesley was incredibly pale and he almost matched the color of the bleached walls. He had dark circles under his eyes from neglecting to sleep and he looked breakable. Wesley had been given a clean shirt, but he clutched the old, bloody one in his left hand, letting it trail on the floor behind him.

He refused to look anyone in the eyes and stared at the floor most of the time, glancing up every now and then to make sure he didn't walk into anything or anybody. His sleeves were rolled up, much to his displeasure, and you could see where the doctor's stitched up his self inflicted wounds.

Xander just blinked and Willow had pretty much the same reaction as Buffy except she actually did stagger backwards a little. Joyce put a startled hand to her mouth when she saw this man's state and could think of nothing to say. Giles sighed again and finally spoke.

"The high school is giving me time off to fully recover. I'll take him in with me." Giles clarified. "I have to go call a taxi." Giles began for a payphone, but Joyce followed saying she would go get her car ready and drive them home. While this was going on, the three friends were left with a silent Wesley. None of them knew the right thing to say at that moment.

"Uh, hey Wes." Xander tried. Wesley cringed at the sound of his name and continued staring at the floor, his old shirt limply dangling at his side, clutched so tightly in his hand, his knuckles were white. Willow recovered from the shock and approached Wesley cautiously.

"Hey." Was all she said and placed a gentle hand on Wesley's shoulder. It seemed to take him a moment to register what was going on. He let her hand linger there a moment longer before violently pulling away, his eyes never leaving the hospital tile.

Buffy just stared at Wesley with tragic eyes until her mother came up behind her.

"Buffy, are you coming home?" she asked. Buffy let her eyes remain on Wesley a little longer before turning to her mother.

"Yeah. You guys need a ride?" Buffy asked her friends. Xander looked up.

"Nah. I'm taking Willow home. See you guys at school, huh?" Xander and Willow walked out first.

Joyce had called Buffy in sick that day, knowing she would want to be with her friends when they were let out. Joyce and Buffy headed to the car and Giles helped Wesley get out of the building. Giles was going to sit next to Wesley in the back, but Buffy surprisingly offered to instead.

"He looks awful. Do you know why he did that to himself?" Joyce asked Giles as the car sped down the road.

"He thought he was abandoned." Was all Giles said and Joyce shook her head. Buffy watched Wesley while she sat in the back. She had tried prying the shirt from his hand, but found that act useless and gave up. He stared out the window a lot and Buffy finally worked up the nerve to speak to him.

"Wes, you can't avoid looking forever." Buffy tried to search for his eyes to look into but was unsuccessful. Wesley cleared his throat and turned his eyes to the car floor.

"She hates me." He whispered and Buffy furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Who hates you?" she encouraged and Giles turned in his seat, careful not to hurt his shoulder when he heard Buffy. Wesley was silent for another minute or two.

"Willow." Was all he said and fell silent once again.

"Willow doesn't hate you." Buffy half laughed. "That wasn't you who hurt her. It was Victor. Using you." Buffy leaned back in the seat and stared out the window as the houses and other car's whizzed by. "He used us all."

(--------)

Joyce pulled up right in front of Giles' house. She offered to help them inside but Giles declined saying she'd done enough. He opened the car door for Wesley, who climbed slowly out with a sigh.

"Go along inside, Wesley. Here's the key." Giles dug the key out of his pants pocket and placed it gently into Wesley's palm. Wesley nodded slightly and trudged to the door. "Buffy, can you stop by later?"

Buffy turned to her mom for the okay, which she reluctantly gave. Giles was about to walk away when Buffy spoke up.

"That was beyond weird, even for me, what Wesley said. . . about Willow."

"Yes. It was rather odd, I'm thinking maybe. . ."

"Rupert?" Wesley called out, not turning from the door. Giles and Buffy looked at each to each other, puzzled, before Giles turned to address Wesley.

"Yes?" Giles asked confusion mingling in his voice. Wesley had never called him that before.

"The key doesn't fit." He stated matter of factly, still not turning around.

"Bring it here and let me see." Giles suggested and cleared his throat when Wesley did nothing. "Wesley!" Giles called, slightly annoyed. Buffy, sensing something wrong, climbed out of the car and told her mom to leave.

"I don't know what's going on, but whatever it is. Be careful." Joyce did the usual mom thing and drove off.

"Wesley!" Giles called again and this time, Wesley slowly turned and with one quick movement raised his hand and pulled Giles a good foot off the ground and let him hang there.

"No. . ." Buffy managed to squeak out weakly. Wesley's eyes were a pulsating, glowing red. "No. . ."

"Oops." smiled Victor.

(-------)

**Well-see. Wasn't expecting that now WERE you? Or, if you know me, maybe you were. R&R peas and tanks. **


End file.
